Amateur radio buffs battle to get messages through council red tape

Nicole Hasham

WITH just a wire antenna, a slice of the airwaves and his own technical guile, Compton Allen is a one-man radio mogul.

He doesn't rely on the internet, or a mobile phone. From his home in Ryde, the amateur radio buff - call sign VK2HRX - can transmit messages to Parramatta or New York. Others contact the international space station, or even bounce signals off the moon.

The old and the new ... the foundation members of the Waverley Amateur Radio Society in 1920.

''The application process for antenna towers can be long and laborious, cost considerable money and involve all sorts of technical requirements which are probably not necessary.''

The century-old pursuit of amateur radio involves sending and receiving data over selected frequency bands. Traditionalists transmit Morse code or voice; the new breed either circumvents the internet by sending digital data over the airwaves, or uses the web to link radio systems around the world.

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Far from simply a backyard hobby, amateur radio can be critical during natural disasters.

An amateur radio operator, Bob Hooper, was reportedly the first to tell the world Darwin had been hit by Cyclone Tracy, and enthusiasts helped authorities communicate during the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires.

''When the phone system melts or collapses or gets overused, we can go on to our radio frequencies and get messages through that way,'' Mr Allen said.

In a submission to the state government planning review, the Coalition of Radio Amateur Experimenters called for smaller antennas used by enthusiasts - those 10 metres from the ground, or five metres above the roof line - to be exempt from development consent. Masts up to 15 metres from the ground should be more easily approved, it said.

Under state planning policy, council permission must be sought to erect aerials more than 1.8 metres above roof level, which can require an onerous development application.

Mark Plowman, an IT consultant from Davidson - call sign VK2MP - erected a taller-style lattice mast in his backyard, which he says falls under council height limits. He communicates as far afield as Russia and the Australian Antarctic base.

''You get to build your own antennas and experiment. It gives you a sense of achievement to contact someone across the world,'' he said.

A planning department spokesman said no change to amateur radio aerial regulation was proposed, and that ''allowing higher aerials without a detailed development application process could cause unacceptable streetscape and neighbourhood safety issues''.